What's the best way to sell some guitar gear in NYC?February 4, 2012 9:49 AMSubscribe

What's the best way to sell some guitar gear in NYC?

I have some old pedals and an amp I no longer want. What's the best way to sell them? The amp seems too big for ebay (I'm thinking about the shipping). The other stuff, like a wah pedal, isn't listed on ebay, so I'm not sure what it's worth. I've seen this question. Is Guitar Center/Sam Ash my best option? Is there something better? I'm also open to trades, if there's some reputable place or site that facilitates that sort of thing. I'm really just looking to clear some space in my apartment.

You might do some poking around on the gearslutz & harmony central forums, or maybe on some of the guitar forums (Les Pauls, Teles, Strats).

They've all got "classified ads" sections, and I've found these useful for getting an idea of what stuff actually sells for if a particular piece isn't actually on flea-bay or craigslist at the moment.

You could also try getting rid of your old gear on one or more of these forums.

I mean, if you just want to dump the stuff ASAP, go to a music store (and my personal preference would be local rather than the GC/SA megastore), but there are lots of . . . . . odd . . . . pockets of gear enthusiasts and collectors out there. Your POS that's been sitting in a closet could be some guy in Iowa's long-sought-for Holy Grail. Not only will you probably pocket more $$ selling it to them, but it's good karma. You've just made another guitar player happy.

I've also seen shipping costs for amps on the bay between $50 & $100, so depending on what you're selling, it might still be worth it to put it up there.posted by soundguy99 at 11:43 AM on February 4, 2012

Seconding Harmony Central. The site has a database of different manufacturers' products, along with user reviews of the items' overall quality and reliability. As 30th Street deals with used/vintage items, they'd be interested in your amp and effects. Sam Ash would be a distant second as far as options go, though I'd be cynical of Guitar Center - they're more like the Kmart of music gear.posted by Smart Dalek at 3:55 PM on February 4, 2012

To get the most money from your sales, go Craigslist, ebay, or the classifieds of the forums soundguy99 linked to (although it would probably help to have a posting history at the forums in order to make buyers comfortable dealing with you, at least for big ticket items like the amp). If you go to a big box music store or pawn shop, be ready to get somewhere in the neighborhood of 50% of what you could on CL, etc.posted by puritycontrol at 7:01 PM on February 4, 2012

Thanks everyone! I'm posting stuff to ebay and CL right now, confident that I'm doing the right thing.posted by puckupdate at 12:01 PM on February 11, 2012

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